This is a recycle of an article I wrote a few years ago on a previous site, but the point exists as much today as it did then.\u00a0What prompted me to repeat it here, was being asked by a novice which brand I would recommend, as they had received assertive but conflicting reports from other sources. I pretty much recited this article from memory, as my response.<\/p>\n
Amongst many novice, experienced and even professional photographers alike,\u00a0there exists a tribal, almost religious fervour in support of one\u2019s \u201cchosen \u201c\u00a0manufacturer of photographic equipment. This phenomenon is rife in circumstances\u00a0as diverse as bar room chat, photography clubs and particularly some of the more\u00a0popular and oft frequented internet forums. Nowhere is this feudal behaviour more\u00a0adequately demonstrated than when the opposing sides are representing the two\u00a0most popular names of Nikon and Canon.<\/p>\n
It has intrigued me as to how and why a pair of photographic equipment\u00a0manufacturers can engender such devisive brand loyalty from people who would\u00a0usually eschew any such allegiances in the way that they might switch credit\u00a0card companies or energy suppliers.<\/p>\n
This issue should be considered in the context of comparing \u201capples with apples\u00a0and oranges with oranges\u201d. It is about comparing the two manufacturers\u2019 models\u00a0of equivalent levels of specification.<\/p>\n
However, the irony is that frankly, there is nothing to\u00a0choose between Nikon and Canon in terms of their ability to help you achieve\u00a0quality photographs. Firstly there is the mantra, most popular amongst the old
\nschool professionals who have done their apprenticeship and learned their craft,\u00a0which states that it is the photographer, and not the camera that makes a good\u00a0photograph. Secondly, each of the manufacturers follows any advances by the\u00a0other with its own competitive model, seemingly within milliseconds.<\/p>\n
All of the popular consumer photography magazines (conventional or online) revel\u00a0in producing comparative reviews. The differences are almost always miniscule,\u00a0but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest that the magazines too are\u00a0to some extent biased toward one faction or the other, in much the same way as\u00a0daily newspapers will align themselves politically. Of course this further\u00a0compounds the tribal war cries of the individual consumers as they digest the\u00a0pages of wisdom in their favourite magazine. An aspiring tribal warrior rushes\u00a0to copy and paste an extract (often out of context) from a comparative product\u00a0review into his favourite forum, which apparently proves that what he and his\u00a0tribe have always advocated is now beyond debate. However, after 5 minutes\u00a0of rallying cries from his own tribe, the opposition paste an extract from a
\nreview of the same two products, from an alternative source, demonstrating that\u00a0it is conversely their chosen demi god of cameras who is the chosen one. Thus\u00a0the fundamentalism becomes perpetuated and the ensuing discussions become ever more inane\u00a0and vitriolic.<\/p>\n
So, what is it that turns otherwise normal rational human beings into\u00a0evangelical geeks? What compels individuals, who ostensibly just want to take\u00a0good pictures, to become the photographic equivalent of a diehard football\u00a0supporter? It seems to me that the principal criteria which governs product\u00a0loyalty is as innocuous as it would be unsuspected by the individual at the\u00a0time. That is it depends entirely on which manufacturer\u2019s product he chooses for\u00a0his entry level camera. Note the use of \u201che\u201d. This is not the writing of a male\u00a0chauvinist; quite the opposite in fact, as in my experience few if any women\u00a0photographers participate in this macho sabre rattling.<\/p>\n
The biggest mistake an aspiring first time DSLR buyer can make is to ask the\u00a0question \u201cwhat is the best make of camera for me to buy?\u201d on an internet forum.\u00a0You will be set upon by hordes of the tribal leader\u2019s lower order workers\u00a0shouting the name of their false idol. The net result of this is that the novice\u00a0will be left without any rational reasoning upon which to make a decision save\u00a0that he has say 53 respondents who say one manufacturer is best, without\u00a0qualification, and 54 who vote for the other. You might as well save yourself\u00a0all the non constructive ear bashing and simply toss a coin in the first place.<\/p>\n
Whichever choice you make, two things occur shortly afterwards: One, money gets\u00a0spent on extra lenses and accessories, which investment, alas, will only fit the\u00a0one manufacturer\u2019s camera; Two, our newly equipped photographer begins\u00a0ingratiating himself with owners of similar equipment in order to further his\u00a0knowledge of its functionality and operation. At this point, if his investment\u00a0in expensive lenses has not already sealed his fate, he may find that the\u00a0disciples, whose pool of knowledge he has been dipping into, are in fact\u00a0missionaries out in the field to recruit new members of the tribe.<\/p>\n
This still does not fully explain why this hypothetical new photographer allows\u00a0himself to become indoctrinated as a fully paid up member of a given faction with\u00a0never a voice of dissent. Here there are a number of criteria which may play\u00a0their part. Perhaps some people are merely susceptible to pack\u00a0mentality and vainglorious acceptance by tribal peers.\u00a0One of the more unpalatable effects of this is that some of the\u00a0internet resources can become very cliquey. Forums can be a fantastic resource within which I have frequently found answers\u00a0to thorny issues I could not resolve on my own. However, if your post is picked\u00a0on for a dose of condescension by a member of an internal clique, then his\u00a0buddies will rapidly fall upon it like hyenas on a carcass, without uttering a\u00a0single constructive word (primarily because they don\u2019t know any). However, the\u00a0forums are also frequented by photographers with genuine knowledge and\u00a0experience, which they are willing to impart to ordinary mortals. But such\u00a0resources are best used for resolving specific technical issues rather than\u00a0making broad purchase decisions.<\/p>\n
The good news for consumers generally is that this rivalry ultimately\u00a0influences the design and marketing offices of the two manufacturers, and drives\u00a0them inexorably to leapfrog each other, sometimes with trivial twiddly bits, but\u00a0sometimes with actual technological advances. This is particularly true of entry\u00a0level specifications and capabilities; this is key to the manufacturer\u2019s later\u00a0sales of higher end cameras. The down side of course, for some, is that two and\u00a0a half minutes after you have parted with your \u201chard earned\u201d for the latest\u00a0state of the art toy, manufactured by your particular tin gods, it has been\u00a0superseded by a new model, and the one you have just bought is available for a\u00a0fraction of the price you paid just before you last blinked.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, there is nothing to choose between Nikon and Canon in any given\u00a0sector of the market, either in terms of the cameras or the lenses, which would\u00a0make any difference in terms of the quality of \u00a0photograph which I or anyone else\u00a0I know could achieve.<\/p>\n
The fact that I appear to have become a slave to Nikon is solely because of the\u00a0first critical purchase decision mentioned earlier in this article. My entry\u00a0level Nikon D40x was well enough reviewed and, at the particular time I was in\u00a0the market, could be purchased at a remarkably competitive price. Thereafter I\u00a0learned that high quality lenses were more important than the camera body, and\u00a0were where future investments should be made. So I made several such investments\u00a0before I ever considered that I should upgrade the camera body, and by the time\u00a0I came to think about my next camera body I was already effectively locked in to\u00a0Nikon.<\/p>\n
Where does that leave the naive and vulnerable novice photographer, looking for\u00a0his or her first digital SLR camera? First of all take note of reviews to try and establish that a\u00a0given standard of camera from either manufacturer is capable of doing what you need of it, and is not\u00a0unnecessarily complicated or expensive for a novice to contend with. However, do\u00a0not necessarily be swayed by review conclusions which state that one or the other\u00a0manufacturer wins the subjective contest by a short head.<\/p>\n
Accept , having decided upon the general specification which is appropriate for\u00a0you, that either Canon or Nikon will do the job admirably. Your next step should\u00a0be to go to a camera store and actually compare the two in the flesh. Pick them\u00a0up, hold them and operate them, and make your final decision based on which one\u00a0feels more balanced and has controls which to you seem ergonomically most\u00a0convenient. And if you choose to seek any advice from photography forums,\u00a0dutifully ignore any single sentence responses which are unaccompanied by any constructive reasoning.<\/p>\n
As George Orwell nearly said \u201cNikon and Canon are equal, but sometimes one is\u00a0more equal than the other\u201d. Time for common sense and perhaps a truce.<\/p>\n
Of course, if Nikon were to offer me any free equipment, then it would be a completely different story!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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This is a recycle of an article I wrote a few years ago on a previous site, but the point exists as much today as it did then.\u00a0What prompted me to repeat it here, was being asked by a novice which brand I would recommend, as they had received assertive but conflicting reports from other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6885"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6901,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885\/revisions\/6901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcotephotography.com\/wpwoodcote\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}